Analysis of China

In recent years, in line with China’s Going Out
strategy announced in 2000, China’s overseas
investment activities have increased greatly and at
increasing rates. By the end of 2009, the total value
of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI)
had reached US$5.6 billion (MOFCOM, NBS and
SAFE 2009). Policies have played strong supporting
roles in bringing about this trend by facilitating and
encouraging Chinese companies to make overseas
investments. This working paper summarises these
policies based on an analysis of policy changes over
time and identifies the main drivers of these changes.
It ends by highlighting some key research questions
of relevance to deepening understanding of the
impacts of Chinese trade and investment in Africa.